KUALA LUMPUR (April 20): Sona Petroleum Bhd announced today that it will be distributing the remaining monies held in its cash trust account on April 30, 2018.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia today, the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) said the amount to be distributed will be a cash equivalent of 1.15 sen for every share held in the company.

It added that the final distribution will be given to eligible shareholders based on the record of depositors as at the entitlement date of Sept 29, 2016 as confirmed by the High Court on Oct 10, 2016.

To recap, Sona announced in April 2016 that it has failed to convince shareholders of the viability of the US$25 million (RM100.8 million) Stag Oilfield acquisition in Australia. Field owners Quadrant Energy Ltd and Santos Ltd subsequently notified Sona about the termination of the sales and purchase agreement effective June 2.

On Sept 15, 2016, the High Court had granted an order to wind up the company after its failure to make a qualifying acquisition, which had to be completed by July 31, 2017.

Following the winding-up order, Sona returned 47.99 sen for every share held in October 2016, which represented 97% of the monies held in its cash trust account.

Sona shares have been suspended since Sept 27, 2016, marking the end of the road for the SPAC that was listed in 2013.